In the famous words of Ernest Hemingway, “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; the rest are merely games.” Bullfighting isn’t exactly in style these days, mountaineering requires the use of real mountains usually half a world away and motor racing is for rich guys, right? Wrong. At least about that last one.
Another old adage is true when it comes to motor racing: “If you want to make thousands, start with millions,” but if you just want to get out and have a good time driving fast with some friends, you might be surprised how affordable and accessible it can be. Enter eXtreme SPEED Track Events.
Easy, Cheap Fun
The team at eXtreme SPEED has been providing driving and racing enthusiasts safe, non-competitive (officially, at least) track-day experiences since 1999. The recipe is simple: Register online for one of their regular events at SoCal area race tracks, show up with your car in good mechanical order (and on a good set of tires!), bring a DOT-approved helmet and have some fun.
If you’re a newcomer to driving on a road course, track instructors will explain a few basic rules of conduct, like how to pass or be passed and what various flags mean. They’ll assess your speed and driving ability and place you into one of a variety of run groups, for beginner to advanced drivers and slow to very fast cars. Then you’ll be out, driving on a real race track at full tilt (or as close to it as you dare to go) and clocking your best-possible times. If you’re a vet, this is some of the lowest-cost seat time you’ll find out there.
They Come From All Over
We caught up with eXtreme SPEED during one of their recent two-day events at Willow Springs’ Streets of Willow circuit and found a diverse group of over 100 cars (and trucks) ranging from bone-stock to fully gutted and race-prepped Japanese, American and European makes.
Representing high-dollar involvement was a Porsche Cayman, a 911 Turbo, a tastefully modified Nissan GT-R, a nearly showroom-fresh Lexus RC-F and your usual assortment of BMW M3s and Mercedes CLKs.
In the modded department, Mike Burroughs’ vintage-themed ‘82 E28 BMW M5, an Evasive-prepped Mitsubishi EVO IX, Good-Win-Racing’s V6-swapped NA6 Mazda Miata and a curious first-gen AW11 Toyota MR2 most caught our eye.
But that’s not to say you needed something expensive or flashy to participate. There were plenty of drivers in low-buck and lightly modified older cars carving the asphalt just as hard.
Hondas and Miatas
Speaking of potentially low-buck fun, the second half of our eXtreme SPEED weekend dedicated certain run groups to Round 2 of the Roadster Cup, an eight-round competitive time-attack series for drivers of Mazda Miatas of all generations and levels of modification.
Are Honda roadsters (or any Honda model, for that matter) more your speed? eXtreme SPEED also hosts VTEC Club competition throughout the year, and you can learn more about it in our upcoming coverage of their first of six rounds in 2018.
So whether you’re itching to do some real driving in your daily, want to stretch the legs of your weekend project or sportscar or just have a blast in your $500 Civic or Miata missile with a bunch of like-minded friends, eXtreme SPEED has you covered. For more information and to get involved, visit: www.extremespeedtrackevents.com
